NEW YORK — Brett Gardner concluded last 2013 season as the Yankees’ leadoff hitter and center fielder without reason to be believe he would not assume both roles again. After five years splitting time between center and left field, the jobs were finally his at least until through the end of 2014, when he was set to become a free agent.

Then his winter made an awkward turn the first week of December. The incumbent center fielder suddenly lost his job when the Yankees surprisingly signed Jacoby Ellsbury, a player with a similar skill set, to a $153 million contract to become the club’s leadoff hitter and center fielder. Immediately, Gardner’s name was thrown in trade speculation.

Fast-forward seven months and Gardner’s spot on the roster has never been stabler. He signed a four-year extension (with a fifth-year option) worth at least $52 million in February, has partnered with Ellsbury to create one of the best defensive outfield combinations in baseball, and is the fueling the offense atop the batting order.

“I think because of the names and the people in the middle of the order, sometimes a guy like that can be overlooked,” manager Joe Girardi said Thursday. “I’ve talked about, when we haven’t had him, how much we’ve missed him.”

Gardner, 30, has been instrumental for a Yankees offense that has watched several of its key cogs scuffle. Gardner is batting .290 with a .351 on-base percentage this season after going 4-for-5 — his fifth career four-hit effort — in the Yankees’ 7-3 win over the Blue Jays Wednesday.

“I feel pretty good,” Gardner said. “I’m really trying to just put the ball in play and trying to make a point to limit my strikeouts and do what I can to get on base.”

Gardner began the season at the bottom of the order, but when Carlos Beltran went on the disabled list with an elbow injury in early May, Girardi decided to move Gardner to the top and shift Ellsbury to third. Beltran returned to the lineup June 5, but Gardner’s production — he’s batting .279 with a .332 OBP in 46 games at leadoff — has kept the configuration unchanged.

“Gardy’s done a really good job at the top of the order,” Girardi said. “It really lengthens our lineup. It puts a lot of speed up top in front of these guys who can hit the doubles and the home runs, so it’s seemed to work OK.”

Having Gardner and Ellsbury in the upper third of the order provides the Yankees with two premier leadoff hitters and a dose of speed the Yankees have lacked in recent years. The duo has combined for 32 stolen bases in 35 attempts.

“I like what I see out of both of them,” Girardi said. “You can only have one leadoff guy. I feel like our lineup has two of them.”

But Gardner has also provided some unexpected home-run power. He already has six home runs this season, often capitalizing on the dimensions at Yankee Stadium, where he has excelled. In 30 home games, Gardner was hitting .345 with an .885 on-base-plus slugging percentage at home entering play Thursday. He is hitting just .245 with a .663 OPS on the road.

“Sometimes guys just are used to their home ballpark and play better at home than on the road sometimes,” Girardi said.

The discrepancy is a departure from his career numbers. His career power numbers are slightly inflated at home — he owns a .394 slugging percentage as opposed to a .376 percentage — but he’s .270 career hitter at home and a .271 hitter on the road.

“It’s really great to have him in the lineup every day,” Girardi said. “The job he does in left field, you’re fortunate to have two center fielders, and we have a big left-center gap obviously, and that’s extremely important for us to have that kind of range out there. But I think when you talk about the Yankees, he’s probably not going to be the first name that’s talked about, but he’s extremely important.”

A few months ago, Gardner's role was uncertain. Now, the Yankees are relying on Gardner, the second-longest tenured Yankee, to stay in playoff contention.